Medical exams for visitors, students and workers

On this page

• Who needs a medical exam
• Who can do your medical exam
• When to get your medical exam
• What to bring
• What you need to pay for
• What to do if you can’t complete your medical exam
• What to expect during your exam

Who needs a medical exam

If you plan to stay for 6 months or less

You generally don’t need an immigration medical exam unless you plan to work in certain jobs in which public health must be protected.

Examples of such jobs are

1. jobs that bring you into close contact with people, such as
   • workers in health care settings
   • clinical laboratory workers
   • patient attendants in long-term care homes
   • medical students admitted to Canada to attend university
   • medical electives and physicians on short-term locums
   • workers in primary or secondary school settings, or in child-care settings
   • domestic workers
   • in-home caregivers to children, the elderly or people with disabilities
   • other similar jobs
2. agricultural workers who’ve visited or lived in one of these countries for 6 months or more in a row in the year before they came to Canada

If you plan to stay for more than 6 months

You need a medical exam if at least one of these applies to you:

• You have lived in or travelled to one or more of these countries or territories for 6 months or more in a row in the year before you come to Canada.
• You’ll come to Canada to work in a job in which public health must be protected.
• You’re applying for a parent and grandparent super visa.

If you need an immigration medical exam, the visa office will tell you what to do next.

Who can do your exam

You must see a doctor on the list of panel physicians. Your own doctor can’t do the medical exam.

The panel physician doesn’t make the final decision about your medical exam. We make that decision. If there’s a problem with your medical exam, we’ll contact you in writing.

When to get your medical exam

You should get your medical exam before you apply. This is called an upfront medical exam.

You can get one if you apply to:

• visit (including parent and grandparent super visa)
• work
• study

To get one, contact a panel physician directly.

What to bring

When you go to your appointment for the medical exam, you must bring

• proper identification
  • We strongly recommend you bring your passport as your identification document. You can also use other approved identification documents, including
    • a national identity (ID) card
    • a driver’s licence issued from one the following countries (if you’re still in that country)
      • Australia
      • Canada
      • New Zealand
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
    • an original birth certificate (if the child is under 18 years old)
    • a refugee travel document
    • a Red Cross travel document
    • a UN laissez-passer
    • a seaman’s book
    • an Organization of American States travel document
    • a refugee protection claimant document
• eye glasses or contact lenses, if you wear them
• any medical reports or test results that you have for any previous or existing medical conditions
• a list of your current medications
• the Medical Report form (IMM 1017E or IMM1020E), if you don’t get an upfront medical exam
  • We’ll send you this form
• 4 recent photographs, if the panel physician doesn’t use eMedical
  • Contact the panel physician before your appointment to find out.

If you’re referred for an X-ray or other tests, you may be asked to present your identification again when you go for those tests.

What you need to pay for

You must pay all fees related to the medical exam at your appointment, including:

• the fee for the panel physician or radiologist
• any special tests, investigations or treatment needed
• any specialists you need to see

If you choose to get any of the vaccines the panel physician offers you, you may have to pay for them. This depends on the panel physician’s fees and local jurisdiction practices.

If we refuse your application after your medical exam, we won’t refund those fees.

What to do if you can’t complete your medical exam

You or your family member may not be able to complete a medical exam:

• due to exceptional circumstances, or
• because you can’t access a panel physician in your region

If this is the case, please submit a letter of explanation showing why you can’t meet this requirement and we’ll review your request.

You can contact us:

• using the web form(opens in a new tab) 
  • select “Add a document to your application”
• through our Client Support Centre

What to expect during your exam

When you arrive

The panel physician or clinic staff will ask you for identification to confirm your identity. If you are referred for an x-ray or other tests, you may be asked to present your identification again when you go for those tests. Your picture will also be taken for our records.

Medical history questionnaire

The panel physician will fill out a medical history questionnaire with you. This questionnaire is about any previous or existing medical conditions. They’ll also ask you about any medications you’re taking.

Physical examination

You’ll undergo a physical exam.

The panel physician or medical clinic staff will:

• weigh you
• measure your height
• check your hearing and vision
• listen to your heart and lungs
• feel your abdomen
• check how your limbs move
• look at your skin

Other possible tests

Depending on your age, you may be asked to do chest x-rays and laboratory tests at the clinic or a laboratory. This is routine screening and the doctor will discuss any abnormal results with you.

You may be referred to a specialist for more testing, depending on the results of your medical exam. Complete this request as soon as possible to avoid delays in the processing of your medical examination.

Vaccination

You should bring any proof of previous vaccination with you to your exam. If there are vaccines available, the panel physician may offer you vaccinations for preventable diseases.

If you bring proof of vaccinations with you

If you give consent, the panel physician will

• record any proof of vaccine you bring with you
• share the information with us

If you consent to getting vaccinated

If you consent to receive a vaccine and you consent to share this information with us, the panel physician will record and share

• the vaccinations you received
• the dates you were vaccinated
• the reason a vaccination wasn’t offered or administered

Keep all paper copies the panel physician gives you for your personal records.

Get more information about vaccines and immunization

• World Health Organization
• Health Canada

Right to have a chaperone

You have the right to a chaperone at any time during the medical exam.

You may:

• ask the medical clinic to have a staff member in the room
• stop the exam at any time to ask questions about what the doctor is doing
• stop the exam and ask for a chaperone, even if you refused one at first

If you have questions or feel uncomfortable with a part of the exam, please ask the panel physician to stop and tell them about your concerns.

After your exam is done

Once the exam is done, the physician will send us the results.

The physician will give you a document confirming that you had a medical exam. Keep the document with you as proof of your immigration medical exam.

If you’re unsatisfied with how the panel physician or panel radiologist did your medical exam, you may

• complain using our web form or
• contact the Client Support Centre

We welcome all compliments, comments or observations through our feedback form.

Getting a copy of your medical exam results

If you want a copy of your medical exam results, please ask the physician when you’re there.

Medical reports and X-rays that are part of the medical exam become our property. We cannot return them to you.

How to include your medical exam results with your application

If you had an upfront medical exam

When you have an upfront medical exam, the panel physician will provide you with a document confirming your IME was completed. You must include a copy of this document with your application. If you apply online, you must upload this document when you submit your application.

If you had a streamlined medical exam or you had your medical exam after submitting your application

You don’t need to send us anything.

How long your medical results are good for

Your medical exam results are valid for 12 months. If you’re a student or worker, your letter of introduction shows the date your results expire.

If you don’t come to Canada as a visitor, student or worker within that time, you may need to do another exam.